Tell Your Children (1936)

Director:

Louis J. Gasnier

Writers:

Lawrence Meade (story)
Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)

Release Date:

1936 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

SEE youthful marijuana victims - what actually happens!

Plot:

Cautionary tale features a fictionalized and highly exaggerated take on the use of marijuana. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.

Plot Keywords:

Gunfire | Hit And Run | Pianist | Exploitation Film | Midnight Movie

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Dorothy Short	...	Mary Lane
Kenneth Craig	...	Bill Harper
Lillian Miles	...	Blanche
Dave O'Brien	...	Ralph Wiley
Thelma White	...	Mae Colman
Carleton Young	...	Jack Perry
Warren McCollum	...	Jimmy Lane (as Warren McCullom)
Patricia Royale	...	Agnes (as Pat Royale)
Joseph Forte	...	Dr. Alfred Carroll (as Josef Forte)
Harry Harvey Jr.	...	Junior Harper

Also Known As:

Dope Addict (USA) (reissue title)
Doped Youth (USA) (reissue title)
Love Madness (USA) (reissue title)
Reefer Madness (USA) (reissue title)
The Burning Question (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

66 min | France:63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:PG (1973) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Grand National Studios - 7250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

George A. Hirliman Productions

Trivia:

The origins of this film have been the subject of controversy for years. Some say it was produced by a church group, while others insist that it was made for the army.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the high-speed drive immediately preceding the pedestrian accident, the car passes the same tire shop three times and the same billboard and gas station twice.

Quotes:

Bureau Official: Here is an example: A fifteen-year-old lad apprehended in the act of staging a holdup - fifteen years old and a marijuana addict. Here is a most tragic case.
Dr. Carroll: Yes. I remember. Just a young boy... under the influence of drugs... who killed his entire family with an axe.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

Simply poor, nothing more

Cindy Collins Smith's review (see above) explains the context of this film very well. I strongly recommend reading it before you read any of the other reviews (including my own - below).

'Epically awful' 'full of misinformation' 'a propaganda film which was so ineptly made that it had the opposite of its intended effect.' Much has been written about Reefer Madness and its importance in the history of film-making, so I won't bother to reiterate any of these opinions. Instead, I would like to look at Reefer Madness as a film.

How does it rate as a film?

Poorly.

It has a predictable, uninteresting plot, cardboard cut-out characters, racial stereotypes presented as obvious facts, a stiff script, an unrelentingly plodding pace, and it is very poorly shot. The dramatic points in the plot are so badly acted, scripted and filmed that the film fails to produce any real drama, and the only likable characters in the film are, sadly, the ultimate villains. The editing isn't too bad.

IMO, the fact that it was shot with very little budget over a very brief period and was not intended to be taken very seriously does not really help matters much. The low budget shows. Some competent acting talent was squandered. And the film really isn't funny unless you're high!

The plot is simple - a clean cut American Boy is given a joint in place of a cigarette and is, from that point forward, spun out of control down the path to lunacy, addiction, and violence. Saying any more would lead to a spoiler, and, just in case any of you are seriously considering watching this film, I wouldn't want to ruin what little entertainment value there is in it. Having stopped experimenting with drugs twenty years ago, I can not imagine anybody even being amused by this film unless they themselves were on drugs. It's simply poor. And poor does not necessarily = funny.

Unless a film is particularly artful, I will rate it according to its entertainment value, not necessarily its technique, theory or method. This, for me, is one of those films which does more harm than good - it is neither an effective propaganda piece nor a parody of one, and therefore deserves a single star.